You have to be careful of the DSM. I only jokingly refer to it anymore. All it really is, is a catalog with which to systematically button-hole people so you can do what you want to with them.

The DSM-IV actually has caffeine addiction in it and the DSM-II had homosexuality listed as a disorder.

And I don't know if I'm too new here or not but, welcome and enjoy.

That's what makes it such a contentious "reference". Psychiatrists sit around and basically vote on what's an illness, and just like you cited, it changes with the (political) weather.

One of my pet peeves is when somebody tries to use their own anal-retentive pet peeves as leverage to alter the behavior of others. But of course, I'm just, like, the HUGEST pill! LOL! LMAO!

I seem to remember (getting old here folks, help me out), that some forms of pica indicate a specific nutritional deficit. This occurs sometimes with undiagnosed celiacs who have malabsorption problems. It is always useful to check out the physiology before calling something a psychological problem or disorder.

HAAAAAAAAAAA!! :haha:

I mean, like, gyah! It's, like, only the internet...hehe. :D

a stomach containing a 12 pound mass of 350 coins

"Hey, buddy, got any spare change?"
"Just a second..."

A friend of my mother's told us the story of that guy about a month ago.

Approximated, to the best of my recollection:

Mark: "And by the time that he went in for surgery, he had consumed 12 pounds of coins."
J: "Wow! How did he survive?"
Mark: "Well, that's the thing, he didn't."

I knew the name of the disorder before looking it up. I've dealt with several people with pica, but that's GOT to be the worst I've ever seen ...

The number is 307.52, incidentally.

Edited to add: pica is not a personality disorder, it's an eating disorder! And contrary to LadySyc's post, is about eating pretty much ANY nonnutriative substance, not just dirt. There is a phenomena related to pica that involves pregnant women having a craving for a certain white clay, but that's supposed to be linked to some mineral in the clay.

Welcome, new folks.

Oh, and with respect to the DSM ... I prefer "Big Book O' Crazy."

New Moneymaking Idea
 

How about DSM IV Trading Cards? This X-Ray could be the first in a series...

Pica pikachu!

That cartoon's not as funny as it might at first appear. My mum used to be a nurse in a large hospital, and every now and then some idiot would try to knock themselves off by swallowing Drano. They take days to die, and they suffer in excruciating pain! :vomit:

Not to sound too callous but I think it's that funny.

They know better, or at least better ways to do it. Any suffering is there own damn fault.

People who die by Drano are the ones that want it to be painful.

And actually, you don't see that very often. Caustic drain cleaners take away any possibility of an open casket funeral.

I've seen more people who attempted to kill themselves with toothpaste than Drano. (the toothpaste guy also drank several bottles of listerine and took an assortment of OTC meds, and washed it all down with tequila. I always thought that bourbon went with mint, but people do improvise.)

blue, its funny when it is a cartoon, not funny when it is real life. A lot of things work that way. Bugs Bunny touches high voltage wires: funny. Real life Joe does the same thing: not funny.

The time period I was referring to was 30 to 40 years ago. I don't have current knowledge of what people are using today.

Apart from Drano, people also consumed petrol, kerosene, insecticides, and various household cleaning agents. I guess they were in such a distressed emotional state that they did not think about the repercussions of what they were doing (ie. that they might not die quickly, and painlessly).